Storing Pu-erh

Of the old teas I've tried, I've definitely preferred those which have had some humid storage. I have had some teas which have been sealed and / or stored in household conditions (climate controlled), and in general, I haven't preferred them.

88 qing bing I like, but even that has fairly humid storage compared to something that's been stored in someone's house or in a purely sealed environment.

theredbaron wrote:As to aging of Pu - i guess it really depends on the climate. Singapore and KL have brutal levels of humidity, and there the challenge seems to me to keep the humidity away from the tea, than keeping humidity levels up. I have drunk quite a few Pu Erh's stored there which were quite stuffy, not very clean tasting.From this aspect, keeping the cakes sealed may make sense - there.

Not personal or to offend but only to share storage knowledge. Non-KLites / Non-tea collectors / tourists may have shallow understanding of KL weather condition and would normally generalise the weather condition in KL as having brutal humidity. Fair if you are on the street, but indoor condition of most homes are actually not as extreme as thought.

(a) For those living in high rise (more applicable above 5 stories building), near hill sides and with windy environment, storing tea could be challenging, provided you have a room away from hot sun and wind is not too strong.(b) For those staying in terrace/link houses, we normally get between ~28-31 degree C and humidity ~60-75, which is perfect constant condition for ageing pu-erh.

Here in SE Asia, the humidity levels are often misunderstood and taken to be worse than they are. If you are on the streets, the humidity levels will be much higher than in most apartment high rises. I live on a very high floor and have a constant temperature of 29-31C and 57-61% humidity in the room that I keep my puerh stored in. They are in boxes stored inside a cabinet. This is without any aircon and in a room with an open window for ventilation. I open the doors of the cabinet once in a while just to make sure there is enough air that gets in. This is probably not necessary. All my cakes are in zip-locked bags.

Tead Off wrote:Here in SE Asia, the humidity levels are often misunderstood and taken to be worse than they are. If you are on the streets, the humidity levels will be much higher than in most apartment high rises. I live on a very high floor and have a constant temperature of 29-31C and 57-61% humidity in the room that I keep my puerh stored in. They are in boxes stored inside a cabinet. This is without any aircon and in a room with an open window for ventilation. I open the doors of the cabinet once in a while just to make sure there is enough air that gets in. This is probably not necessary. All my cakes are in zip-locked bags.

The last two weeks of daily rains or so were quite challenging for this wooden house ground dweller here: leather items began began forming a layer of rot, and wooden furniture always feels rather wet to the touch...Not my favorite season!

It's the season the nasties come out again - a few days ago the wife killed a 25 cm centipede in front of the door, and it's the season the snakes will escape the wet ground again towards higher ground. Last year we killed a pit viper hiding in our stove that nearly bit my wife.

Tead Off wrote:Our posts seem to illustrate the varied humidity levels of BKK. I can't recall ever seeing a snake in BKK but you are not the first person to have reported this. Do they like puerh?

No snake found yet in my tea cabinet.

But in my sleeping room, living room, kitchen, etc...

I killed scores of snakes here (i have always lived ground level, highrises give me vertigo, then the issue with fires, earthquakes...). If i don't know, them, or know them to be poisonous - i kill them. Pythons i usually let go, they mostly just kill rats (but when i lived at the Khlongs, a long time ago, we killed some and grilled them - they taste excellent!). Last year we found a dead 2 meter cobra which got entangled in a wire mesh just below one of our windows - that was quite scary.

And we recently had a 2 to 2 1/2 meter monitor lizard in our garden - chasing this thing out was scary - it started hitting its tail at the stick i used to chase it - speed and power was impressive.

I store my pu-erh in a relatively small onggi jar. I keep mine simply in the original wrapping then break off and re-bag 50g or so for regular use. That way I don't open the onggi jar every time I want some pu-erh. I think you can order onggi through the Korean onggi blogspot.

Chatchan wrote:I store my pu-erh in a relatively small onggi jar. I keep mine simply in the original wrapping then break off and re-bag 50g or so for regular use. That way I don't open the onggi jar every time I want some pu-erh. I think you can order onggi through the Korean onggi blogspot.

What humidity and temperature? And is the onggi jar breathable or airtight? I definitely would't keep my puerh in a completely airtight jar, especially in a dry or cold environment

I know virtually nothing about the storage and aging of puerh but reading all of these posts I had a weird idea.

Has anyone ever tried building a wooden box/crate for storing puerh with a thermostat controlled ceramic infrared heat emitter and a adjacent compartment separated by some sort of breathable wall where a humidifying object could be placed?

rabbit wrote:I know virtually nothing about the storage and aging of puerh but reading all of these posts I had a weird idea.

Has anyone ever tried building a wooden box/crate for storing puerh with a thermostat controlled ceramic infrared heat emitter and a adjacent compartment separated by some sort of breathable wall where a humidifying object could be placed?

I would be worried about any wood that had any type of odor. I am using an old fridge and most of them have non odor absorbing or emitting linings in them. I use a cigar humidifier and small computer fans to move air around every 4 days or so.

rabbit wrote:I know virtually nothing about the storage and aging of puerh but reading all of these posts I had a weird idea.

Has anyone ever tried building a wooden box/crate for storing puerh with a thermostat controlled ceramic infrared heat emitter and a adjacent compartment separated by some sort of breathable wall where a humidifying object could be placed?

I would be worried about any wood that had any type of odor. I am using an old fridge and most of them have non odor absorbing or emitting linings in them. I use a cigar humidifier and small computer fans to move air around every 4 days or so.

rabbit wrote:I know virtually nothing about the storage and aging of puerh but reading all of these posts I had a weird idea.

Has anyone ever tried building a wooden box/crate for storing puerh with a thermostat controlled ceramic infrared heat emitter and a adjacent compartment separated by some sort of breathable wall where a humidifying object could be placed?

I would be worried about any wood that had any type of odor. I am using an old fridge and most of them have non odor absorbing or emitting linings in them. I use a cigar humidifier and small computer fans to move air around every 4 days or so.

What about controlling the temperature?

It stays about 70F very near to the temp of the house. The fans will raise it a little when they run but after a day of no fans it will readjust to the temp of the house.

Chatchan wrote:I store my pu-erh in a relatively small onggi jar. I keep mine simply in the original wrapping then break off and re-bag 50g or so for regular use. That way I don't open the onggi jar every time I want some pu-erh. I think you can order onggi through the Korean onggi blogspot.

Crazy, I've been asking around about just that for the past few days. Do you feel the jar is leeching off aroma from the cakes at a fast pace? How are the results so far? Do you have cakes outside the jars for comparison? I was thinking about getting some onggi jars with only enough space for the cakes and leaving them tong'ed (to insulate them a little further) inside it. I have humidity and heat plenty here, it might work well.